The only thing that stops the dust is the rain. It’s a sweet reprieve, but there is no middle ground. The land is either as dry as the Betty Ford clinic, or as wet as the ocean floor. Everything can be seen from the ridge overlooking Armadillo as John Marston gently bounces along atop...

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WASHINGTON – Michelle Obama has Obama-ized the White House with healthful menus, planted bok choy and rhubarb to supply them and ramped up the fashion quotient with metallic strapless dresses and stuchanel flatsdded belts. Her latest style statement: official flowers in a looser “garden” style by Laura Dowling, the new White House chief floral designer.

Dowling’s hot-glue gun has been smoking as she’s created hundreds of arrangements, many in custom containers she’s wrapped in birch bark, moss and dried apricots. The more relaxed, sometimes unexpectedmbt look incorporates armloads of romantic blooms, trailing vines, shaggy ferns and the occasional hot pepper and Brussels sprout. “It’s my job to create a new signature style,” said Dowling, who took over the job in October. “And sometimes instead of flowers, we can use vegetables for a centerpiece.”

The humble cactus is even crashing the party. At the May state dinner for Mexican President Felipe Caldersn, prickly pear cactus showed up in vermeil wine coolers, and Dowling also tucked a few in the centerpieces ofWholesale Jewelry fuchsia roses and Cattleya orchids. On a daily basis, though, President Obama is said to prefer one simple floral arrangement in the Oval Office, plus a bowl of red apples.

Fresh flowers create a backdrop for every White House event. ffxiv gold“The floral arrangements that Laura and her staff create add to the welcoming experience that I want guests visiting the White House – whether they be heads of state or families on vacation – to feel,” Michelle Obama said by e-mail, adding that her own favorite flowers are roses, mums, peonies and hydrangeas.

From a modest work room, Dowling supervises a staff of three who plan months ahead for protocol-laden ceremonies and holiday extravaganzas such as the month-long marathon of Christmas. And don’t think presidents are cheap nfl jerseystoo busy to notice flowers.